Maryland county stun gun ban prompts Second Amendment lawsuit

A nurse is challenging a Maryland county’s stun gun ban on Second Amendment grounds.

Leah Baran sued in federal court after stun gun manufacturer Taser International refused to ship the device to her home in Howard County last month, Courthouse News Service reports.

Baran says she wants a stun gun becasue she fears for her life after her ex-boyfriend broke into her home, raped her and tried to kill her in 2012.

She says in her Jan. 27 lawsuit that his last words to her were, “If I go to prison, as soon as I get out, I am coming for you and I am going to kill you,” Courthouse News reported Thursday.

The ex was convicted of kidnapping and assaulting her and is serving a lengthy sentence in a Maryland prison.

Baran estimates that his earliest release date is in 2032, but she is still convinced that he will make good on his threat, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

She told the paper that she believes what he said to her, “every word of it.”

The paper reports that Baran owns a gun and has applied for a permit to carry it with her everywhere, but isn't comfortable resorting to deadly force to defend herself.

Last year the Supreme Court decided a case that may give her lawsuit a boost. In Caetano v. Massachusetts the court questioned the constitutionality of stun gun bans without outlawing them, according to the Post.

A Howard County spokeswoman declined comment on the lawsuit, which also seeks to overturn Baltimore County’s stun gun ban.